1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mounting brackets for 12 volt trailer light/electrical connectors, and in particular to a bracket that attaches to a factory receiver style trailer hitch assembly with two stainless steel hose clamps, and having the ability to hold several trailer light/electrical connectors at once.
2. Prior Art
Manufacturers of receiver style trailer hitches do not permit hitch installers or the customer to drill holes through, or fasten screws to, or cut or weld on the torsion tube section of the trailer hitch. This section is also referred to as the crosstube assembly. The reason for this is that while towing a large trailer with a weight distributing type of trailer hitch, the spring bars of the trailer hitch twist the torsion/crosstube section of the receiver hitch assembly. The torsion/crosstube will also twist when a trailer is towed without the use of spring bars, but to a lesser degree. Consequently since the torsion/crosstube section of the trailer hitch receiver assembly undergoes considerable stress while towing, any holes drilled through it, or screws screwed into it, or welding or cutting of any kind would weaken it considerably, thus voiding the manufacturers warranty.
The torsion/crosstube of the receiver style trailer hitch is usually the most convenient location to attach the mounting bracket for the trailer light/electrical connector. Other people have tried to solve the problem of attaching the lights/electrical connector bracket to the torsion/crosstube of a trailer hitch without weakening the tube. U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,094 to Putnam describes a bracket with a square U-shaped section to fit over the torsion/crosstube, and is secured by sandwiching the tube between the two flanges of the bracket by use of two draw bolts. A drawback to this design is that several sizes of brackets would be necessary to fit the various hitches with varying sizes of torsion/crosstubes. Another inconvenience is that in most instances the trailer hitch would have to be unbolted from the frame of the vehicle in order to attach the bracket. Also this bracket sacrifices ground clearance, which is very important on a trailer hitch, since it is usually the trailer hitch that bottoms out when going over a bump or dip in the road because it is the farthest thing back on the vehicle and this bracket is only capable of holding one electrical connector at a time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,209 to Converse and Hayes describes a trailer light connector enclosure. This design is made specifically to house "light connectors" such as the 4 way flat connector which is very popular on boat trailers and small utility trailers without electrical brakes. This type of light connector does not have a mounting flange, so it is necessary to have an enclosure such as this.
The drawback to this design is that it is not capable of mounting the larger "electrical" connectors that have mounting flanges. The type of connector that this enclosure is designed for is a 4 way connector and is referred to as a "light" connector because it has only enough wires to supply lights only, such as running lights, turn signals and brake lights. Where as the larger connectors with mounting flanges such as the 6, 7 and 9 way connectors supply not only lights but also electricity for the electric brake control, charging of the breakaway battery on the tongue of the larger trailers, backup lights, and 12 volt refrigerator operation, and so are referred to as "electrical connectors". These larger "electrical connectors" such as the 6 way, 7 way and 9 way are used on most travel trailers, horse trailers and larger utility trailers and require a bracket with 2 to 4 holes for the connector to bolt to.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,220 to Martin J. Hallier Jr. describes a clip for receiving and retaining a trailer wiring connector. This clip bracket is only capable of holding a 4 way flat style trailer "light connector" and cannot accommodate the larger style "electrical connectors" with mounting flanges.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,427 to Linnea H. Pearson describes an electrical trailer connector retainer. This retainer is only capable of holding a 4 way flat style trailer "light connector" and cannot accommodate the larger style "electrical connectors" with mounting flanges.